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Aug 13, 2007 8:25 pm US/Eastern
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Mercury Hair Tests Reveal Scary Facts About Fish
by Michele Gillen
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
Before getting pregnant with her baby, Miami mom Laura Pugliese decided to have her hair tested for mercury. The results startled her when high levels of the toxin showed up.
"Right, above the recommended levels of the mercury," she told
CBS4's Michele Gillen as she read the test results back.
Mercury is a toxic element that can be found in industrial pollution and can travel the world through the air and seas, ultimately finding its way into the flesh of fish. The older, bigger, and fleshier the fish is--such as shark , swordfish, mackerel and tile fish--the higher the potential risk is to certain consumers such as pregnant women and their unborn children.
In fact, after their test, Pugliese postponed getting pregnant for six months.
"I was not about to even have a doubt in my mind that I could do something to potentially harm my unborn child," she said. "I'm not going to risk it."
She says that months after cutting out certain tuna from her diet, her mercury levels were reduced.
Pugliese is one of more than 12 thousand Americans who have spent $25 for an at-home test kit from Greenpeace and the Sierra club. Samples were sent to the University of North Carolina at Asheville as part of a study that tested the participants and found one in five had more than the Environmental Protection Agency's recommended limit of mercury in their bodies.
But some doctors are concerned that such headlines will scare pregnant women out of eating any and all fish, which is not recommended because it can be rich in protein and nutrients, and just needs to be eaten in moderation.
And seafood industry leaders say advocacy groups like Greenpeace are trying to change environmental policy by calling into question the health benefits of fish, at any cost.
"To try to get people scared about a healthy product like seafood in order to achieve a means to scare them about mercury is irresponsible," said John Connelly, with the National Fisheries Institute.
Regardless, many markets and restaurants have now taken to including mercury advisories for pregnant women. Finding the right diet is something many of us want to consider, and checking with your personal doctor is perhaps the best place to start.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)